Dal LaMagna: A Serial Entrepreneur Parlays Tweezerman Business Success into Social Activism

The following is an excerpt from Dal LaMagna's new book, "Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right," (Wiley, 2010).

When I started Tweezerman, I had not imagined the company it would eventually become. At the time, I had no grand vision for a grooming implement empire; all I was hoping for was a modest business that could support me.

That hadn’t always been the case.

After 16 years of failing at dozens of businesses, I was simply trying to be realistic, to scale back my schemes, and to take one small step at a time.

It was that sense of caution and focus that put me on the right track. Even today, I’m not sure what would have become of me or Tweezerman had I not experienced those early failures.

Like the start of most small businesses, Tweezerman was a one-man show. I did all the selling, inventory management, bookkeeping, shipping, and deliveries myself. I operated out of a 400-square-foot bungalow that was my office, warehouse, and home. My initial investment was $500.

Today, Tweezerman International operates a 65,000-square-foot marketing and distribution facility in Port Washington, New York, and a responsibly run factory in Pondicherry, India, where many of the products it sells are produced with the highest-quality standards and a lot of proprietary know-how. Tweezerman products are sold in thousands of stores around the world, and the company employs hundreds of people. I am truly in awe of what happened.

What I am most happy about is that I was able to put into practice something I call responsible capitalism. My employees, from those who worked in the stockroom to those who were on the steering committee, all became owners of the company and shared proportionately in its success. 

This book is both a story about me and an account of the businesses I created. It begins with my early days at Harvard, harks back to when I was a kid growing up in Queens, and tells about building the Tweezerman Corporation and, finally, my years in politics. 

I believe my many failures to be as important as my later accomplishments, because it is there that the seeds of success for Tweezerman are deeply rooted. 

There is nothing extraordinary about me. What I did I think anyone can do. In fact, I warn you. Expect success and make sure you want the life it will create for you.  I invite you to enter my story about perhaps find in it some inspiration of your own. -- Dal LaMagna

Chapter Thirty-Five: Good Morning, Baghdad

“When I was a child I wanted to save the world.

When I was a young man I was going to save my country.

Now I’m an old man and I’m committed to saving the pond in my backyard. And you know what? For the first time, I’m actually being successful.”

— [wise business axiom as quoted by] Michelle Long, Executive Director, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies

The day after the November 2006 elections, I was on a plane with Congressman Jim McDermott flying to Amman, Jordan. I had been working on stopping the war in Iraq for over a year. Now the Democrats had won back the House and the Senate and optimism was running high. The American electorate had spoken clearly, and what they said was they wanted us out of Iraq.

Jim and I had become friendly many years before when I was running for Congress in 1996 against Peter King. He was the only member of Congress who helped me, and later when the Republican Party was going after him, I was more than happy to help fund his defense. When I heard that Jim was going to Amman, I eagerly offered my services as a videographer.

“Jim, I’ve been there already, and I filmed the meetings. When you get back you won’t remember these guys, much less what they said. You need to get it on video.”